Lumos

Felicity and Ulric were on high alert as they sat in the small hidden corridor just behind a statue of a one-eyed wizard. It was far past bedtime – they could only see each other because their eyes had adjusted as darkness crept over them.

Ulric had found no information on three-headed dogs in the library and hadn’t dared asked Madam Pince if she knew of any books that might mention them. So he’d arrived at the corridor, quietly calling for Felicity, until she’d emerged from her hiding spot and ushered him inside.

They were on high alert, listening for the trio.

“Do you think they’re still coming?” Felicity whispered to Ulric. “What time is it?”

“Dunno,” answered Ulric. “Maybe we should-”

“Wait!” Felicity hisses, holding a hand out to silence Ulric. They both heard it – the creak and thud of a door shutting. “Damn, was that them?”

She and Ulric exchanged a worried look. Exhaling slowly, Ulric said, “One way to find out.”

Cautiously, the two stole from behind the statue and looked up and down the corridor, finding it abandoned. It was several meters down the hall to the corridor entrance. They reached it quickly and tried the handle – locked.

“Shoot,” whispered Felicity. “Do you remember-”

“Oh, move,” Ulric muttered, nudging Felicity aside as he rolled his eyes and drew his wand. He tapped the lock smartly and said, “Alohomora.”

Felicity had just wrapped her hand around the handle when a voice just behind them said, quite clearly, “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

Ulric and Felicity spun around, horrified. Had Snape caught them? Were they going to be expelled? Out after hours and trying to enter the forbidden corridor – they’d be on the train home tonight.

But it wasn’t Snape – it was Sebastian.

He was standing with his arms crossed, his sharp eyes flitting between the two first-years. He wasn’t in his school robes, like they were – instead, he wore khaki pants and a green sweater. Felicity crossed her arms, mirroring Sebastian’s stance, and said, “None of your business.”

“Trying to lose your House more points?” Sebastian said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Your little friends already handed us the House Cup on a platter.”

“We don’t give a damn about the bloody Cup,” Ulric snapped. “Now go away.”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” Sebastian persisted.

Felicity, in no mood to play Sebastian’s game, drew her wand and pointed it at his nose. “Go away, Sebastian. This is important and I don’t have time to tell you off tonight.”

“Blimey, Felicity,” Sebastian murmured, instantly losing his previous swagger. “Seriously, what’s going on? Why are you trying to get in there? It’s out-of-bounds.”

A bark sounded on the other side of the heavy door, momentarily drawing all three students’ attention. Felicity shot Ulric an urgent look. “They need our help.

“Just go back to bed,” Ulric hissed at Sebastian. “We don’t have time to explain.”

Needing no other prompting, Felicity pulled open the door and hurried inside, Ulric on their heels. To her dismay, Sebastian squeezed in behind them, his jaw going slack when he caught sight of the monstrosity waiting for them.

The three-headed dog looked drowsy, like it had just woken from a nap. It’s eyes were trained on the three new intruders. Felicity quickly scanned the room and caught sight of a harp and a flute at the monster’s feet.

“Music!” she exclaimed. “Music must calm it down!”

“We’ll never get to those instruments,” Ulric moaned.

Felicity looked at Sebastian. “Can you conjure one?”

“I- I don’t know a spell for that.”

The dog was growling, bristling up and lurching toward the group. Panicked, Felicity opened her mouth and sang-

“When I get to the bottom,
I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
‘Till I get to the bottom and I see you again

Don’t you want me to love you
I’m coming down fast, but I’m miles above you
Tell me, tell me, tell me
Come on, tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you’re no dancer”

Felicity sang the upbeat song a bit slower, softer – it was the first thing she could think of. Ulric and Sebastian stared with wide eyes as the dog’s eyelids drooped and it slowly sank to the floor.

“Holy-”

“Shh,” Ulric interrupted Sebastian. Grabbing Felicity’s shoulder, he said, “Don’t stop.”

Felicity followed Ulric to the trap door, stepping carefully around one of the dog’s paws.

“Wait,” Sebastian whispered urgently. “What the hell are we doing?”

“We are going down here,” Ulric snapped. “You can get the hell out of here.”

“Not likely. I’m not letting a couple of kids-”

Felicity kicked Sebastian in the shin, distracting him from Ulric. With a grimace, Ulric lowered himself into the hole and dropped. Sebastian whipped around, swearing. Felicity waved her arms toward the darkness with as much silent sarcasm as she could manage. The gesture clearly said after you.

Sebastian stared at Felicity, still singing The Beatles as softly as she dared, then muttered, “Oh, bloody hell.”

He plunged through the trapdoor, a hoarse shout following him down. Felicity waited a few seconds, then followed. Air rushed past her as she fell, the last line of the song stretching into a shriek. Then she landed on something soft and rather lumpy. Ulric was next to her, trying with some difficulty to stand up.

“Why-can’t-I-move?” Ulric gasped.

“Lumos,” Sebastian said somewhere to Felicity’s right.

The light from Sebastian’s wand illuminated a small chamber, filled with a gnarled plant that covered most of the floor and had broken their fall. Tendrils of vine had wrapped themselves around the trio and were tightening by the second.

“Oh, no!” Felicity gasped, beginning to struggle.

“Don’t,” Sebastian called. “Devil’s Snare – panicking makes it work faster! I’ll just-”

But, as Sebastian started to raise his arm, he found it crippled by a curling tendril, twisting it until it was impossible for him to keep his grip. His wand tumbled into his lap.

“What do we do?” Ulric cried. A creeping vine was wrapped around his throat, kept from choking him only by a hand he’d managed to wedge between his neck and the vine.

“I don’t remember – it’s first year stuff, shouldn’t you know?” Sebastian retorted.

Felicity ignored them both, trying desperately to remember. A damp tendril was creeping up her side and, thinking of plants in her mother’s garden, she shouted, “What about light? Heat?”

“Yes, that’s it!”

“Brilliant, Felicity!” Ulric shouted. Directing his wand at the heart of the Devil’s Snare, he shouted, “Incendio!”

The plant instantly recoiled, its creepers loosening and twisting away. The three stumbled toward the door off the hall, putting a good distance between themselves and the plant before coming to a stop.

“Why…the bloody hell…did we do that?” Sebastian gasped, angry now. “This is mental.”

“We’re protecting the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Felicity snapped. “Sn-Someone’s trying to steal it, to bring back Voldemort.”

Sebastian visibly cringed at the name, but seemed not to notice Felicity correcting herself – she knew how he rather idolized Snape and worried he might react violently to the accusation. “Why didn’t you go to Dumbledore?”

“He’s not here, and the Stone’s going to be stolen tonight.”

“But surely one of the other teachers-”

“No one was going to help us,” said Ulric shortly. “So are you going to, or should we just leave you here with the death plant?”

Sebastian fumed for several moments before crossing his arms and saying, “Can’t let you go wandering under the school alone, can I?”

“Sure,” said Felicity, rolling her eyes. Looking at Ulric, she added, “Come on. Harry and the others are already ahead of us.”

“Harry? Harry Potter? He’s down here?”

But Felicity and Ulric ignored Sebastian. As they crept down the hall, Ulric glanced at Felicity and, stifling a laugh, said, “I can’t believe you did that.”

“What?”

“Got us past that thing by singing bloody Helter Skelter.”

Blushing slightly, Felicity said defensively, “It was the first thing I could think of.”

“It was brilliant.”

After a few more minutes, they began to hear a soft rustling from ahead. Looking anxiously at Ulric, Felicity whispered, “What d’you reckon that is?”

Ulric only shrugged.

At the end of the passage, they found themselves in a high-ceilinged room, brightly lit and filled with gently fluttering birds…or were they?

“Something’s up,” said Felicity, pointing. “What are those?”

“Keys,” Sebastian said. “Probably for that door.”

Together, they looked at the closed door across the room.

“Oh, dear,” Felicity whispered, staring up at the cloud of winged keys. Ulric crossed the room, trying the door. Sebastian wandered over to one wall, where he picked up something and turned to face Felicity. It was a broomstick.

“No,” Felicity groaned.

“Yes,” smirked Sebastian, tossing her the broom. She caught it with fumbling hands. Sebastian tossed one to Ulric, too, then selected one of his own. “Okay, let’s find this key. It’s been used once, it’s probably looking a bit ruffled.”

Laughing at his own joke, Sebastian kicked off from the ground.

“I hate flying,” Ulric muttered.

“Me, too,” replied Felicity.

Reluctantly, they clamored onto their brooms and followed Sebastian into the midst of the keys, searching for one that looked slightly used.

“There!” Ulric shouted, pointing to a particularly battered-looking key. He lunged, but the key flitted out of his reach. “Damn, they’re fast.”

Sebastian drew his wand. “Get under. Be ready to catch.”

Following the key several meters below, Felicity watched as Sebastian considered a spell. Then, without warning, he barked, “Expelliarmus!”

A jet of red shot from his wand and hit the key, bashing it into the wall. Apparently stunned, it fell – right into Felicity’s outstretched hand.

“Yes!” Ulric cheered.

He and Sebastian drifted back to the floor and followed Felicity to the door where, with some difficulty, she worked the key into the lock and twisted. She let go at once and the key flew away, looking very ruffled indeed. Glancing worriedly at her companions, Felicity slowly opened the door to the next chamber.

The sight before them was astonishing – life-sized chessmen were scattered across a giant chessboard, some standing, others laying on the side as though out cold. A glint of red was visible to one side and Felicity gasped, “It’s Ron!”

She and Ulric rushed across the board, Sebastian trailing behind. The giant chessmen turned their heads, watching them pass, but made no move to stop them. They seemed to be resetting themselves from what must’ve been Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s game.

“Ron,” said Felicity gently, crouching by the red-head’s side and giving his shoulder a shake.

Ulric crouched next to her, holding a hand over Ron’s mouth. “He’s breathing.”

“But where are Harry and Hermione?”

“Gone on, I expect,” said Sebastian, looking toward the opposite door. “If You-Know-Who’s involved, can’t afford to waste time.”

“He’s hurt,” Felicity snapped.

Softly, Ulric whispered to Felicity, “He’s right. We need to move on.”

“We can’t just leave Ron.”

“Then you go. I’ll stay with him.”

“No,” Felicity breathed. “I can’t do this without you.”

“Yes, you can. You have to. Help Harry, I’ve got Ron.”

Reluctantly, Felicity stood. Sparing Sebastian barely a glance, she spat, “Come on.”

Sebastian followed without a backward glance. As they entered the next passageway, Sebastian said, “What if we’re too late and You-Know-Who is alive at the end of this path?”

“Then…we’ll try to survive,” was all Felicity could manage.

She let out a gasp as Sebastian grabbed her arm, twisting her around to face him and saying urgently, “Listen to me. If You-Know-Who is at the end of this tunnel and we die…you have to know that I…”

Felicity jerked away, all her poorly suppressed anger and hurt boiling over as she said, “Are you kidding? Now? You want to do this now?”

“For once, would you just listen?” snarled Sebastian. “I’m trying to say that I’m sorry. I turned my back on family and I hate myself for it. You kept my secrets, even when I turned my back on you, and you…you might be the only chance for a real friend I’ll ever have. Can you please, in case we die up ahead, consider forgiving me?”

“Well…” Felicity hesitated. “I’ll forgive you…if you promise next year will be different. No more ignoring me, no more laughing at me with your friends. No more lies.”

“No more lies,” Sebastian promised. “So I guess we should move on.”

Sebastian started up the hall, Felicity trailing after him, but he paused after a few steps. Turning, he studied Felicity for a moment. His gaze was scrutinous and Felicity was just about to ask what he was looking at when he pitched forward. One of Sebastian’s hands clasped around the back of Felicity’s head, pulling her in and crushing his lips to hers.

Felicity instantly protested, raising her fists to shove against his chest, but Sebastian had already pulled away and was hurrying up the corridor. Over his shoulder, he called, “Couldn’t let you die without being kissed!”

Enraged, Felicity barreled after him, a nasty hex already on her tongue. She bounded into the next chamber and froze by Sebastian’s side, paralyzed by the sight before them.

It was a troll – even more massive than the one on Halloween. It was sitting in the middle of the chamber, its meaty fingers prodding a bloody lump on its head. It looked very angry. At the sound of Felicity’s footsteps, the troll looked in their direction, its beady eyes narrowed.

“Oh, hell,” Sebastian muttered.

The troll lurched to its feet and thundered across the chamber, raising its club. Felicity and Sebastian leapt apart, the club crashing down and cracking the floor between them.

“Oy, this way!” Sebastian shouted, sending up sparks to get the thing’s attention.

“No!” Felicity cried, but the troll was already lumbering toward Sebastian. Its great back was to Felicity and she raised her wand, shouting, “Incendio!” Flames burst from the tip of her wand, licking at the troll’s back. It roared and swung around, its club raised.

“Rictusempra!”

Hit from behind, the troll began to make a choking noise as the tickling charm did its work. Sebastian darted around the great, lumpy legs and grabbed Felicity’s arm. “The exit!” he shouted, gesturing toward the far door. If it was locked, they’d be trapped.

As they made a dash for the door, the troll seemed to shake off the spell and bellowed as it swung the club. It caught Sebastian in the side, knocking him into the wall. There was a soft clink as his wand hit the floor and rolled away.

Felicity spun around, seeing the troll advancing on Sebastian, its club over its head, and pointed her wand at the club itself. She didn’t know the word for the spell she wanted, but she could see it in her mind – the club growing skinny, green, scaly…

And, without a word, Felicity saw the club make the very change she had pictured. The troll brought the club down, but it was no longer a club – it was a snake, wrapping itself around the trolls massive arm. Angry and confused, the troll began to wave its arm around frantically.

“Leg-Binding Curse!” Sebastian called.

Without hesitation, Felicity cried, “Locomotor Mortis!”

The troll’s legs snapped together. Thrown off and unable to balance, the troll smashed into the wall and slumped to the floor. The force of the impact had knocked it unconscious. Hissing angrily, the serpent slithered away, vanishing into a crack in the floor.

Trembling, Felicity slowly crossed the chamber and offered Sebastian her hand. He took it, allowing her to help him stand. For a long moment, they stared at the troll, hands still clasped. A flurry of movement made them jump and, a second later, Hermione appeared through the door they had been about to enter.

“Felicity?” Hermione gasped. “What-”

“We came to help,” explained Felicity. “Where’s Harry?”

“He went on! There was a potion and there was only enough for one – we’ve got to get an owl to Dumbledore – Harry’s trying to hold him off-”

“Let’s go,” Felicity said instantly. If they couldn’t follow Harry, they could go back and help Ron. She followed back into the chamber with the chessboard – Ulric looked up.

“Thank God,” he said, raising his voice to be heard across the room. “I can’t bring him around.”

Hermione crouched by Ron’s side and Felicity turned to Sebastian. “Do you think Harry’s going to be alright?”

“I don’t know,” Sebastian answered softly. “Nice job on the troll, Felicity. Your Transfiguration – you did a nonverbal spell!”

“I didn’t even know I could.”

“It takes powerful magic and discipline. You must have a good tutor.”

Felicity’s eyes snapped to Sebastian’s face. He was grinning. “Have you-”

“Felicity,” Ulric interrupted. He appeared to have left Ron in Hermione’s capable hands. “We need to get the brooms from the key room. That’s how we’ll get out.”

“I’ll help,” Sebastian volunteered, taking off toward the key room. Ulric, looking bewildered, followed.

It took a painfully long time for Ron to wake up and, even then, he leaned heavily on Hermione as they got him onto a broom and began the much-faster journey back up the passageways, out through the open trapdoor and, hitting the door they’d left ajar, barreling into the third floor corridor, crashing into the wall opposite the door and landing heavily on the floor.

“Dumbledore,” Ron wheezed, stumbling to his feet.

“Thank you so much for coming after us,” Hermione said quickly to Felicity, Ulric, and Sebastian. “Get back to the common room – we don’t all need to be caught!”

Felicity started to protest, but Ulric grabbed her elbow and said, “Thank you! Good luck!”

As Hermione and Ron hurried away, Felicity turned on Ulric and said, “Why did you do that?”

“They’re right – there’s nothing else we can do except get in more trouble.”

Reluctantly, Felicity nodded. Turning to Sebastian, she said, “I know we sort of forced you along, but thank you.”

“Glad I could help. I’m happy you’re safe,” said Sebastian sincerely.

She stared at him for a few seconds, reliving the past hours in those seconds, then turned and followed Ulric down the corridor, toward Gryffindor Tower. Neither of them spoke until they were safely back in the common room, after having to wake up a very disgruntled Fat Lady.

“I won’t be able to sleep,” said Felicity miserably.

Ulric shook his head. “Me, either. Let’s sit out here and wait.”

With a sigh, Felicity settled onto one of the couches by the fire. Ulric sat next to her and Felicity took his hand. They waited until well-past dawn, when they would finally receive news about what had happened down in the chamber.